Sugar

Two years after getting Archie I found Sugar. My old college friend, Armand Green, had just bought a purebred Havanese female. He was a single man, and soon after buying Sugar (then called Daisy),  he found that she was too much of a burden for him. He worked as an accountant in the city for most of the day, and when he came home at night Sugar would get so excited she would make herself sick. He remembered from a Christmas card I had sent him two years ago that I was a fan of Havanese dogs, and so he called me up.

I had actually been thinking of getting another dog, preferably a Havanese dog of some sort, but I hadn’t had much luck. When Armand called me, I was delighted. I consented immediately, and Armand, sweetie that he was, gave me Sugar for free.

The reason for her name was that I got her on the day of the dead. When Armand rang my doorbell I was on the couch, watching a day of the dead special. As soon as we opened the latch on the doggie door, Sugar bounded out enthusiastically, settled herself on my chair, and started to contentedly gaze at the dancing skeletons on screen.

Later that day, when I was taking both her and Archie for a walk, we passed a vendor selling sugar skulls for day of the dead. Sugar, being a rambunctious little puppy, jumped up and snatched one with her teeth. I apologized profusely to the vendor, but she would have none of it. She insisted on bagging one for me as well, and let me off free of charge, telling me to put the skull on my mantelpiece, where I still have it to this day.

The cutie held the skull in her teeth for the rest of the walk. On the way home I had already internally christened her “Sugar.”

Until next time, this is Lollipop, signing off!

Sugar skulls like the ones I have